Slide 1 Introduction
The case study denotes the incident of mishandling and negligence of a health care provider who was in charge of an aged woman suffering from chronic level issues of inadequate cardiac blood and oxygen, failed kidneys and affected lungs. The nurse had overdosed the patient with excessive amount of morphine without concerning the practitioner and claimed that she helped the patient to conclude her suffering and die with amelioration. The case when taken to the authorities revealed that the nurse herself admitted the fact and referred to herself as a death angel who bolstered the woman in departing. Consequently, the nurse was confiscated of her services and application to registration for two years.
Slide 2 Synopsis
The case study from the Australian Tribunal report provides that the nurse named Ms. Banister who was in charge of the old woman practices euthanasia on the patient with end level ordeal without any directions and reference from the health practitioner. The nurse quotes that she what she did was a gesture of goodwill as the patient was a family friend and called it a substantial assistance to the deceased as her suffering got to an ending point by her act. For the nurse being a professional of the field, it was mandatory to follow the standard responsibilities and health care providing measures of a registered professional (Dowie, 2017).
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The incident was an act of endorsement of negation from the authorized responsibilities of a nurse. The nurse in case of the chronically ill patient had the substantial responsibility of providing palliative and assuasive fostering to the woman. As an ethical and professional duty, she was accountable of the medication she gave to the patient as prescribed to her (L, G, & Y., 2017), but she gave excessive amount of morphine to the patient which was a level quite higher than the prescriptive dosage. A rule of nursing and health care is that the patient should be secured and protected through the practices of supervision and the nursing ethics should be applied while performing the care measures.
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One of the very significant legal and ethical code of conduct for a registered nurse is to ensure the patient’s safety and no harm while providing care either during addressing any moral or psychological even or the medication of the patient (Water, Rasmussen, Neufeld, Gerrard, & Ford, 2017). In the light of this provision, it was important for Ms. Banister to ensure following up the prescriptive dosages and periodic consultation with the health officer regarding the medication and the observed condition of the patient. Instead of practicing these nursing ethics and standards of duty of care, she self-assessed the need of euthanasia and executed the process with the patient.
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On being inquired about the incident, the nurse audaciously confessed of the glitch in her professional and ethical conduct as a nurse calling it an act of empathy for the medically discomforted patient (Barlow, Hargreaves, & Gillibrand, 2018). Euthanasia is a practice in nursing which is considered ethically unfavorable. Ms. Banister’s act of mercy killing was a setback for the successors and family of the deceased and she undertook the responsibility of her assistance to the unwilling suicide of the aged patient by overdosing her with amounts of morphine. The pharmacogenetic report of the deceased declared the excessive morphine and fentanyl levels in her body and the nurse confessed about the morphine inculcation.
Slide 6 Implications
Nurses being responsible of the medical fitness of the patients under their observance should effectively make decisions regarding how they have to serve the patients. It is important for the nurses to stick to the basic ethical, legal and professional principles to practice at the health care unit during their performances (McKenzie, et al., 2019). In the given case of Ms. Banister and the old woman, the nurse was to be considerate towards the patient, ensure her safety, accountable for her caretaking measures, analytical to any event of conflict of interests and health pertaining but the nurse in fact negated from these ethical considerations.
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Given the act of mishandling and irresponsibility by the nurse who practiced euthanasia without any direction and valiantly confessed of her act of assisted suicide, the investigation of the case was made (Pesut, et al., 2020). On drafting the inquest to the event, the medical examiner did not charge for penalizing the nurse but on the observations of the judicial members, action was taken against the nurse. Her trial was to confiscate and disentitle her for two years from being registered a nurse and providing services of health care and observance in any unit of medical care. This disqualification was obvious from her confession of unethical conduct while observing the patient.
Slide 8 Strategies
The optimum duty of a nurse is to practice legal and ethical codes of conduct while providing care to the patients in charge. These principles require a nurse to be accountable of her actions while observing the patients, to be empathetic and thoughtful for the patient, guarantor of the patient’s safety and provide morally driven solutions for any act of conflict (Blair, et al., 2021). Ms. Banister did not bind to the principle of accountability and safety assurance of the elderly patient with severe medical issues of cardiac infarction, kidney failure and liver malfunction.
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In the light of the ethical corroborations regarding euthanasia, it is not ethically preferred to be regulated in the nursing practices despite of being legally validated in some regions (Pesut, et al., 2020). The reason carries ethical, moral and philosophical narratives which find the practice illegal and unethical. The nurse should have consulted the health officer prior to implementing the euthanasian practice. Moreover, it is the ethical duty of a nurse to cerate a culture of care and observance to the patient that is relieving and protective for the patient (Grace, 2017). Ms. Banister instead of providing a soothing attention to the old woman, medically assisted her in an unwilling suicide and was audacious enough to confess her act without consent.
Slide 10 Conclusion
The case study provides a real-life example of how a nurse malfunctioned to practice euthanasia on a patient without directions and requisites referenced by the health practitioner or health care authorities. It was of substantial importance for Ms. Banister to responsibly practice the legal and ethical codes of conduct and be accountable of the ensured fitness and health-oriented observance of the patient. She overdosed the patient with excessive amounts of morphine which infused in her blood leading to death. The nurse fearlessly admitted her act of assisted suicide calling herself an angel of death who helped the patient die with ease and end her pain. This was an act of unethical behavior by the nurse which led to her ineligibility and disentitlement form her professional services for two years.